Review: The Elements of College Teaching

The aim of David K. Irving’s The Elements of College Teaching is to
provide new and seasoned teachers with a comprehensive guide to the basic
elements of teaching in colleges and universities. A “how-to” book is a useful
resource in teaching and learning circles, however, it is important to note
that the scope of Irving’s text is more fruitful for those new to the teaching
profession. First-time teachers entering colleges and universities would
benefit from the information contained in Irving’s book as he provides concise
guidelines on how new teachers can develop assignments, prepare for classes,
and evaluate student performance. In this way, the contents of the book will
age gracefully given that, for new educators, The Elements of College Teaching would remain a useful beginner’s
guide to navigating the higher educational teaching experience. In reviewing
this book as a “how-to” guide for beginner teachers, it must be said that a shortcoming
of this resource is its lack of examples. That is, although Irving uses
personal anecdotes to frame the basic instructions on how to create a syllabus
or grading rubric, a new teacher would better profit from examples of a
well-constructed syllabus or grading rubric. Despite the limitations to the
text, The Elements of College Teaching
will serve as a practical resource for new university and college faculty who are
without departmental training or professional development
support.

1 comment:

The GED tests you on the same sort of subjects as a traditional school. Math, science, reading, writing, and social studies are all on it. The whole test takes about seven hours to complete. Don’t faint! You are allowed to take the test in pieces if you want. The gist of the GED is more about thinking critically than memorization. It will test your ability to figure things out, not recite facts. It will also ask you to apply your knowledge to different situations to achieve a solution.